*ry.triiaih**!*tlix # Tuesday, Sepieinber f0,2019 .

Hotrse h stens vote r

onn titira ztnxb{[[s By JovEE MARIE N. D Et.A ('.truz t @iovcenloie

remaining three packages of

the Comprehensive Tax Reform
P4,2F
sl{!!@Sb48rsrlussgibg&lis it
.

' their swift approval on Monday.
VotinglB6 affirmative, sixnega-
tive and two abstentions, lawmalc-
ers passed onthird and final read-
ing the proposed Passive Income
and Financial lntermediary Taxa-
tion ReformAct (Pifita), or House
Program (CTRP) are no\ /
inching their way to becoming laws as
the House of Representatives prioritized
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Bil1304 to rationalize the taxation
of th-. financial sector so that it
becomes simpler, fairer, more ef-
ficient and regionally competitive.
The billwill nowbe transmitted
to the Senate.
.,
The measure, known as Package
4 of the CTRP, reviews the taxes
imposed on-f inancial intermediar-
ies and the products they offer: on
savings andiDVestments; and debt
and equity instruments.
Estimatedrevenuefrom .i
,Package 4 ofthe Pifita,
CIRP or
rationalizing taxation of the
financial sector
Under the bill", interests, divi
dends and capital gains will be
levied with a unified income tax
rate of 15 percent. It also unifies
andlowers the tax rates on interest
income andwillbenefit 75 Percent
ofdeposit account holders who are
mostlysmall savers, correcting the
inequitabie distribution of the tax
burden,
CoNTINUED oN A2

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House hastens vote
on Citira,2
,SLJ
tax bills
coNrrNUBDFRoMA1 Ii -- ' ..
The bill appr0priatesa structural adjustment
ft a raruuaSiuesinvestorswhowillsituate
fund for displaced workers; P500 million
Meanwhile,in(0mefromassetsWhiCh.outsidc0fllleoManilasixyearsoflTHandfour for targeted (ash grants and other support
0nlylherich haveac(esst0,su(ha5l0ng term years0f additionaltaxperks,
- pr0grams for displaced worken; P500 million
deposits, foreign Cunency Deposit Uniis, and
-
ltalsoremovesthepelpetual5per(ent0n
it fortargeted training f0rdisplaced workersand
(Glt) Underthe bill'
OiuiO.ni, tot
stocks, ai. sublect to lower gtoss income ealned
P5 billi0n forthe skills upgrade program 0fthe
ratesftom zero t0 15 percent. Tire Pifita aims *illtt,iuatoantou'ugeinvestorsandlo(ators
IT BPO.
to generally harmoniie all 0f these rates t0 a t0 reappty afteI the five-yenr 0r.sevtn-year
Jhe measure seeks to encourage
tiniform percent.Thiswillimprove the equity perioi, to qualify for another five years of
t5
investments by bringing down the (orporate
ol the tax system. incentives.
in(ome tax (ClT) rate from 30 pelcent t0
This bili makes insuran(e produds more The bill provides for the removal 0f
not
20 percent and modernize investment tax
affoldable by lowering the tax 0n insurance 0nly preferentialtax rateofcertain corporate
in(entives t0 enhance faitness, improve
It willfixthe un eq ua I treatment f0r insuran(e taxpayersbutals0the0ptr0nf0r(0rp0rati0ns'
(0rp0Iati0ns' t0 r0mpetitiveness, plug tax leakages and attain
products wirh simiiar naturesu(h as llfe;health, inciuding resident f0reign-
fis(al sunainability,
ilMq preneed and pension, and lower the
avail th"mJelves of the 15-perc€nt qloss
lhe measure pr0poses t0 bring down the
documentary stamp taxes (DST5) 0n nonlife in(0me tax
CIT by 2 percentage points starting 2021.
insurdnce i
lMeanwhile' the Home Development
llnder the measure, tax 0n savings will l\'lutualFundshallbeexemptedfrominc0me
- Package 3
go down from 20 percent t0 15 per(ent taxatign given that lhe s.cial Secu{ity MEANWHILE, the House (ommittee on
Meanwhile, the ri(h who invest in dividends System (5SS), Philippim Hedlth l;sul}n(e Appropriati0ns on Monday apptoved the
will pay 5 pelcent more in taxes. "C0rp0rati0;-{PHIC),
and 6ovtrnmenl funding pr0visi0n 0f the bill ref0rming
Ihebillseekst0redu(ethecurrentunique 5ervice lnsuran(e System (6515) are already real property valuati0n 0r Package 3 01
nu mber oftax rates and bases from the (u lrent ex€ m pted.
thE.CTR P
80t036. . The brll grants the President the fruower H0use Bill 105 seeks P58 milli0n for the
House Committee on Ways and Means io grant incentives iT the\rbjea tras a establishment 0f a Real Property Valuati0n
Chairman Joey Salceda said thdbill will gil/e -comprehensivesustainabledevelopmentplan
5ervicewithin the Bureau 0f Lo(al G0vernment
the g0vernment P4.2 billion in revenues. ' and will bring in at least $200 million.
Finance (BLGt) for 2020.
Also, the measure allows enterprises The bill institutes ref0rms in realpr0p€rty
Package 2 .presently availing 0f incentives t0 enjoy valuation and assessment in the country and
Al50 0n Monday, the House approved 0n qlfe same for two years after its eff€(tivity.
reorganizes the BtGF.
second reading Package 2 0f the CTRP 0r the Thereaftet they c n rea pplyf0 r in centives under It seeks t0 grant ea(h LGIJ the p0wer t0
proposed Corporate lncome Tax and lncentive the Strategic lnvestments Priority PIan (5lPP).
ceate its own sources of revenue and to levy
Rationalization Ad (Citira). Those enjoying the IIH are further permitted taxes, fees and charqes.
Thr0uqh viva v0(e v0ting, members 0fthe t0 enioy thh for the remaining period or for
The bill wjll be transmitted t0 the plenary
lowerchamberapprovedHouseBill4l5T,which i.five yea15, whichever c0mes first.
for another round ofapproval.
amends sections 0f Republic Act 8424 0r the 'l goardUnderthe bill, the Fisca I ln centives Review
National lntetnal R€venue Code 0f 1997.
The bill will be approved on third and final
will be chaired by the Department 0f
finan(e and willhavethe p0wert0 appr0vethe
\fle*outls Neuls/
reading on Thursday. - grant0f incentivest0 pr0p0salsf rom investment

Under the bill, investments in Metr0 bromotion agencies. @l

l\4anilawill now enjoy ln(0me Tax H0liday
(lTH) f0it+rreeyearsandadditional incentives
for two years. Those in areas adjacent t0
Metro l\4anila, on.the 0ther hand, will have
four years of tax break and three years of
exemptions.
. HB 4157 also apor0priates a P]s-billion
stru(ural adjustment fund f0r infrastructure
projects 0fec0z0nes and freeports, t0 be used
' ,for tlsearch and dev€lopment, utilities and
lease.